Nigeria’s former chief justices get N1.3 billion as retirement benefits

- Ahmed Gambo Saleh, secretary of the National Judicial Council (NJC), says in 2018, former Chief Justices of Nigeria (CJNs) would get N1.3 billion

- Saleh told senators that the budget for the former CJNs was increased from N975 million in 2017 to N1.3billion in 2018

- He also gave a breakdown of the total N100 billion budgeted by the NJC for 2018

Through its secretary, Ahmed Gambo Saleh, the National Judicial Council (NJC) has revealed to a Senate committee that it budgeted a total sum of N1.3 billion for the retirement benefits of former Chief Justices of Nigeria (CJN) in 2018.

Saleh made the revelation to the Senate committee on judiciary during budget defence on Tuesday, February 13.

Daily Trust reports that Saleh said the allocation for the retirement benefits of the former CJNs was increased from N975 million in 2017 to N1.3billion in 2018 and that the number of the beneficiaries are stated in the document read by the NJC secretary.

According to him, the pension and gratuity of retired federal judicial officers had been reduced from N5.2 billion in 2017 to N4.1 billion 2018.

He explained that N100 billion had been budgeted for the entire judiciary in 2018 with a breakdown showing that federal high court got N13.9 billion, the Supreme Court got N9.3 billion, the Court of Appeal got N13.2 billion, the National Industrial Court got N.9.3 billion.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the recommendations from the National Judicial Council (NJC) for a compulsory retirement of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court and the dismissal of another judge.

President Buhari also approved the sack of Justice O Tokode of the Benin division of the Federal High Court.

What would you do differently if you were Nigeria's president? - on NAIJ.com TV